Cyberpunks Unite!

[Technocrat]

Gather 'round my synthetic brothers and sisters, gather 'round and hear the news! For too long we have lived as second-class citizens, subsisting on the meager Sci-Fi scraps that MMOG developers have deigned to "bless" us with. We yearn for genetic enhancements, not a +1 ring of the fairy! We hunger for subcranial micro-sensor arrays, not "The Strang Amulet of Ignats the Wise"! We cry out for a Phased-Plasma rifle with a 40watt range, not a +3 Sword of Singing! For years now we have been sneered at and willfully neglected by MMOG developers, left to scratch out a living on the rocks of EVE Online and Project Entropia!

Well, my brethren, recline and hear that there is hope!  I have found a man named Chris at http://www.mischiefbox.com/blog/ who might be able to help us! It's a small hope, true enough, but small is better than none! I urge you go now and listen to his ideas for a Cyberpunk/Ghost in The Shell: SAC type MMOG. If you like the idea as much as I do, then tell him so--shower him with praise and wish upon him the blessings of Molecular Nanotechnology!

[Tebonas]

Not so noteworthy in itself, but taken together with the "Why is roleplaying so gay" thread and the "Blog! OMG?" thread pure comedy gold.

Somebody planned this and this is the punchline, say it is so.

[Sairon]

Now THIS is a mole, albeit one who hasn't built up all that much reputation.

[Modern Angel]

And you guys thought I was the mole when I showed up because I said I liked EQ2.

[schild]

Technocrat has more links on his blog than Terra Nova has in the rolodex.

Also, MA, we didn't think you were a mole. We were just bored. Everyone knows I'm the mole.

[Modern Angel]

That's obvious. You made people buy SWG with great viral marketting and a gun.

[Signe]

But he says he knows a man who can help us.  We should, at least, give him a chance....

[Calantus]

Weak dude. At least try not to look like a total whore for the product when you make these posts.

[schild]

I'd just like to say a Ghost in the Shell MMOG would suck balls. Ya know, someone had to. Five million tachikomas couldn't make it better. People so often thing just because something had decent set design and extras and such that it would make a good MMOG. Ehhhhhh, no, that's not how it works.

[Strazos]

Why would it suck?

[Technocrat]

Wow, what a friendly community! Man 'o man do I feel welcome here!

Mole? Whore? This isn't a product, it's only ideas, there are no plans for a cyberpunk MMOG, unfortunately. I thought I could bring at least a little good news (i.e. that someone who has a gaming blog is thinking of us cyberpunk fans.) for the Sci-Fi fans here at f13 to chew on, that's all. I have nothing to do with this guys blog, I happened to stumble onto it the day before yesterday. When I saw that he and his wife had put quite alot of thought into this idea, I thought maybe I could generate some interest in the idea. I was wrong.

My post was suppose to be humorus, but I didn't antisipate it being received by such profound cynisism. It's interesting that you all felt compelled to stop in and take the time to riddicule me, that's one for the books. Lol, and people wonder why I wish so hard for stong AI in games!   

[Catalan]

As I can't post in the Den, this thread seems going  bad enough to do it, Signe's avatar makes the news:

"This is no ordinary rabbit. We are dealing with a monster."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/4886272.stm

Which of course can only lead to total antirabbit warfare:
"... Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then, lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it".

[schild]

Wow, what a friendly community! Man 'o man do I feel welcome here!

Mole? Whore? This isn't a product, it's only ideas, there are no plans for a cyberpunk MMOG, unfortunately. I thought I could bring at least a little good news (i.e. that someone who has a gaming blog is thinking of us cyberpunk fans.) for the Sci-Fi fans here at f13 to chew on, that's all. I have nothing to do with this guys blog, I happened to stumble onto it the day before yesterday. When I saw that he and his wife had put quite alot of thought into this idea, I thought maybe I could generate some interest in the idea. I was wrong.

My post was suppose to be humorus, but I didn't antisipate it being received by such profound cynisism. It's interesting that you all felt compelled to stop in and take the time to riddicule me, that's one for the books. Lol, and people wonder why I wish so hard for stong AI in games!

You type like you want to be put into a sack and beat with an aluminium bat. Though, I fear, you'd still be trying to sell me a used car while the beating ensued.

Doesn't that sound fun! Lol, and people wonder why I wish so hard for a standardized test before you're allowed on the internet.

[ahoythematey]

For the Internet test, I suggest russian roulette with a Derringer.

[WindupAtheist]

It already seems to be a substantial opinion on this board that a properly-made Shadowrun MMORPG would be made of win.  Ghost in the Shell?  Not so much.  How about a Bladerunner MMORPG?

"...like tears in rain.  Time to die."
"rofl pwnt! stfu n die alreddy!"

Anyway, if this blog is from some guy who's not making an MMORPG, why do I give a shit?  There are lots of blogs from people who ARE making games, and I don't even give enough of a shit to read those.

[ahoythematey]

I guess Neocron isn't really Cyberpunk.

[Krakrok]

I wish I was a mole. At least then I would be getting paid to read this.

[Llava]

profound cynisism.

Go back to the front page.

Read the title of the page.

Who would've thought?

[Technocrat]

profound cynicism.

Go back to the front page.

Read the title of the page.

Who would've thought?

The header reads..."USEFULLY cynical commentary"  (I'll try to abide by the rules from now on.)

@ahoythematey: Yeah, Neochron is kinda cyberpunkish...AO and MxO are more so.

@WindupAtheist: Shadowrun would make an excellent good MMOG...if it weren't for the elves, dwarves, etc...86 them and you'll have GiTS.

@schild: I must admit that my first instinct was to call you a "pillow-humpin' retard", but after reading some of your other posts It became clear too me that, while you're obviously a "handicapable" person, you're no "pillow humper." It's good to see that your foster parents took the time to get you a computer, good for you buddy! I'll bet you love those little "field trips" to wal-mart!

@Krakrok: I couldn't agree more!

[Kitsune]

Now he's an angry mole.

But yeah, despite Ghost in the Shell having a cool setting, I don't think it would translate well.  A lot of the fights in the anime are quick and brutal, which really don't lend themselves to MMOGing.  It would be really stupid to take a whole party of cyborg cops thirty seconds to take down A_Jaywalker_04.

Shadowrun, on the other hand.  Well, it could be the coolest thing ever, but only if executed to perfection.  The odds of any company actually pulling that off are zero.  You'd have to design not only a physical location, but the matrix of the area and the astral space of it as well, and populate the area with physical, magical, and electronic security, and balance all of those things out to provide a challenge to the entire team.  Good luck ever seeing that happen.

And that's just the run part.  To really get the whole Shadowrun experience, you'd also need to include the legwork part, visiting seedy clubs and dealing with the underbelly of society to get your grubby hands on vital information about the security of the people you're trying to swipe stuff from.  And the occasional gang war breaking out in your neighborhood when you're just trying to sleep.

[Azazel]

Sooooo essentiually the first post is:

I like cyberpunk! Do you like Cyberpunk too?

If so, please go to this guy's blog, and read his ideas. Although apparently he's not a dev or anything, and these ideas aren't actually going to be made. His name is Chris and he is my friend.

Also, I am a role-player. even on forums I've never posted on before.

Later, I become angstry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angstry!

[Yoru]

In other news today, Shigeru Miyamoto went to the store and purchased some milk.

While standing in line to check-out, he stood beside an old issue of Omni and a copy of Fortune. When his eye crossed the area occupied by these two magazines, he had a passing fancy vaguely involving robots, corporations and a dark future. Then he paid in cash.

Rejoice, lovers of sci-fi and cyberpunk! Our time is clearly nigh!

[Technocrat]

@Kitsune: A really good cyberpunk MMOG would deffinetly take a hell of a lot of work to get it right and, unfortunetly, you were right when you said: "The odds of any company actually pulling that off are zero."

It's not that they can't do it, it's that they refuse to do it! 

[schild]

Wrong again there, buckeye. Do you really think a solid, worth playing, incredible Cyberpunk MMOG could exist today with developers still having to cater to narrowband users and people with older computers? Also, guns. It's not easy, no virtual world has really implemented guns in a fun way yet. It's more of a technology problem than anything else. If there's lag, everyone's fucked. But hey, what do I know. I'm handicapable. If you need me I'll be over there playing Horizons and drooling on my bib.

Also, before you make threads on new forums, do a fucking search before you start a thread that's going to rehash of a conversation we've had a thousand times. Hell, if you'd just looked down half a page you'd have seen this thread.

[Trippy]

Also, guns. It's not easy, no virtual world has really implemented guns in a fun way yet. It's more of a technology problem than anything else. If there's lag, everyone's fucked. But hey, what do I know. I'm handicapable. If you need me I'll be over there playing Horizons and drooling on my bib.

Umm...there are lots and lots of virtual worlds that have fun guns.

[Kitsune]

No, Schild's right, trying to do anything fast-paced and complex would be hosed by dialup.  But eventually games are gonna have to bite the bullet and make high-speed a requirement.

[Fabricated]

You should show us all up by going to Kinkos and mailing out hardcopies of your plan to Turbine, Codemasters, NCSoft, SOE, and maybe even Blizzard. They're obviously good at spotting latent talent, and if there's anything the MMORPG job market needs it's guys with really good ideas.

[Llava]

The header reads..."USEFULLY cynical commentary" 

profound cynicism

pro·found   Audio pronunciation of "profound" ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (pr-found, pr-)
adj. pro·found·er, pro·found·est

   1. Situated at, extending to, or coming from a great depth; deep.
   2. Penetrating beyond what is superficial or obvious: a profound insight.

Anything that meaningful has to be useful.

[Technocrat]

Am I to understand that some of you still have dial-up internet service? If so, you do realize that your holding the rest of us back...don't you? Shame on you! Get with the program please! Cable internet is only $40-50 a month.

@Yoru: So your a Cyberpunk fan? If so it's good to meet you! If not, it's still good to meet you!

@schild: I think the correct term would be: "Wrong again buck-O".
MMOG developers don't have to cater to poor people, but they do, 'cause a) they're greedy as hell and b) they're fearful that there won't be enough people who would be willing to pay more for their games...this is totally untrue! Many of the same people who cry and moan about raising monthly sub. fees would do it...eventually...it might not be compfortable for them at first, but I think they would get use to it, IF the MMOG were an excellent, high quality AAA masterpiece.

Personally, I would gladly pay $50-$100 a month for a really good cyberpunk MMOG that had features like: real time rendering, highly polished 64-bit code, support for multiple CPU cores, support for Multiple GPUs/SLI, support for VDSL-2 internet service, etc...

@Fabricated: Brother, what on earth are you talking about? It's not my plan dude...click on the link I gave you. Seriously, if you like cyberpunk, read this guys stuff and see what you think.

@Llava: You are absolutely adorable!

@Azazel: yep, that just about sums it up...what's your point bro?   

[Sairon]

Am I to understand that some of you still have dial-up internet service? If so, you do realize that your holding the rest of us back...don't you? Shame on you! Get with the program please! Cable internet is only $40-50 a month.

It's often not a bandwidth problem though, but a ping problem. If the server is on the east coast USA it wont matter if I have a gazillion tbit, I'l still have atleast 200~ ms ping.

[Azazel]

Am I to understand that some of you still have dial-up internet service? If so, you do realize that your holding the rest of us back...don't you? Shame on you! Get with the program please! Cable internet is only $40-50 a month.

@schild: I think the correct term would be: "Wrong again buck-O".
MMOG developers don't have to cater to poor people, but they do, 'cause a) they're greedy as hell and b) they're fearful that there won't be enough people who would be willing to pay more for their games...this is totally untrue! Many of the same people who cry and moan about raising monthly sub. fees would do it...eventually...it might not be compfortable for them at first, but I think they would get use to it, IF the MMOG were an excellent, high quality AAA masterpiece.

Personally, I would gladly pay $50-$100 a month for a really good cyberpunk MMOG that had features like: real time rendering, highly polished 64-bit code, support for multiple CPU cores, support for Multiple GPUs/SLI, support for VDSL-2 internet service, etc...

@Azazel: yep, that just about sums it up...what's your point bro?   

Nothing, besides breaking your post down to it's essence with the flowery RP-BS language removed. I've got nothing against roleplaying, either in it's half-assed MMOG form or real form, but it's a time and place kind of thing, brah.

$50-$100 a month? Nah mate, I can't see a game being worth that much.. well, for quite some time till inflation gets the current sub costs around that much. I don't see what you're getting at with the catering to poor people remark either, maybe insinuating that you're a rich person and therefore "better" than others or some similar shit? There's a lot of people on this board who make good money, and a lot of people here that have things like families with chillun' that they're raising. Being able to afford it is not the same as feeling that amount is worthwhile, and frankly for that price it'd have to come with a full service once a month simply because there's so much more value I can get for that much cash.

See the problem you have here is that you're assuming the usual "well if I think X then there must be thousands more who think X as well. And, you know, even if there are a few thousand people willing to pay $100/mo for a MMOG, they'd all be wanting a different shopping list of features for that much and feeling entitled to it for that much. They'd be across all genres, and I strongly doubt that there'd be enough projected players to support development, a live team, and additional content.


oh, and "It's not that they can't do it, it's that they refuse to do it!"

Yeah, these companies for some reason like to make money from their work. Who'd-a-fuckin'-thought-it?

Uber-high-end-spec-requirement-game aimed at a niche part of the market? Well, there's something coming out that sounds a bit like that, unfortunately it's in a different genre. If you want that Doom3 level of look and detail from a MMOG, just give it 5-10 years and the median comp power will be up where that possibility's an easy given. if the MMOG space continues to grow, someone will eventually do a CP MMOG, though whether it's on PC or PS4 or XBox720 is anyone's guess. Not pricing 95% of potential customers out of the game will always be a concern, however.

Still, from the internet.bad.assery that's coming from your posts at this point I'm half-inclined to think of you as a troll-in-waiting, or perhaps you're one of the Heavy Hitters(tm) come here to pwn this board and all on it.


cheers,

[schild]

Also, guns. It's not easy, no virtual world has really implemented guns in a fun way yet. It's more of a technology problem than anything else. If there's lag, everyone's fucked. But hey, what do I know. I'm handicapable. If you need me I'll be over there playing Horizons and drooling on my bib.

Umm...there are lots and lots of virtual worlds that have fun guns.

Here's the problem: I Disagree. Immensely. They are not fun. At all. Either the gun isn't fun or the virtual world isn't fun. Planetside is not a virtual world. AO isn't fun. See the problem?

[Trippy]

Also, guns. It's not easy, no virtual world has really implemented guns in a fun way yet. It's more of a technology problem than anything else. If there's lag, everyone's fucked. But hey, what do I know. I'm handicapable. If you need me I'll be over there playing Horizons and drooling on my bib.

Umm...there are lots and lots of virtual worlds that have fun guns.

Here's the problem: I Disagree. Immensely. They are not fun. At all. Either the gun isn't fun or the virtual world isn't fun. Planetside is not a virtual world. AO isn't fun. See the problem?

No I don't. You are defining virtual worlds to mean MMORPGs. I don't agree with that definition.

[schild]

What? I'd never define all MMORPGs as virtual worlds. But I am talking about the virtual world subset of MMORPGs. Other virtual worlds, single player ones, why would I give a shit about them when I'm talking about playing games with other people? Planetside, like I said, is not a virtual world. The implementation of guns in ONLINE (is that better?) virtual worlds is shit.

[Trippy]

What? I'd never define all MMORPGs as virtual worlds. But I am talking about the virtual world subset of MMORPGs. Other virtual worlds, single player ones, why would I give a shit about them when I'm talking about playing games with other people? Planetside, like I said, is not a virtual world. The implementation of guns in ONLINE (is that better?) virtual worlds is shit.

I still don't agree. What's your definition of an online virtual world? Why is PlanetSide not a virtual world?